Sailor Moon is being revived in Summer 2013! NOT as a movie. This news actually came out a month ago on July 6.

A press conference was held simultaneously in Japan with artist/creator Naoko Takeuchi and her former editor at Kodansha Comics; and with all-girl idol band Momoiro Clover Z singing the closing theme from the original series, while at the Japan Expo in Paris France. Details are quite basic, but this surprise announcement was sprung upon the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon - replete with special logo.

It has been long known that Takeuchi has been at odds with Kodansha, for changing her manga beyond what would be required for presentation in the anime format. An online comment had it that the Full Metal Alchemist anime series had paved the way in making anime adaptations closer to the original manga. The tweaked re-release of the manga series in Japanese and English gave indications that they had made up; so that in retrospect, this announcement is not entirely surprising. That, along with re-releases in some countries of the original series on TV.

There has been what I would call a tentative announcement that the original voice actors would be used - no idea about who will be doing what. Toei Animation will be doing the series again. There have been complaints about them; but after the first season they seemed to fall right into the groove. (Although it would have been nice to see, say, Gainax do it! ) This remaking already has prompted inevitable online forum comments about the new series being a "reboot".

Besides obvious updates in the onscreen portrayal of everyday technology in the past 20 years - my long-time speculation - the idea is to more or less follow the original manga. This has led to online debates about whether the series would appeal to more mature fans in Japan. The all-girl idol band Momoiro Clover Z is stated to be performing at least one of the themes. The leaked on YouTube opening and closing themes are not inspired; the band is OK, but don't have the more mature punch of Morning Musume. Obviously then, the series is still meant to target younger girls at least at some level. BEWARE: there is a fake "trailer" on YouTube - but this is the theme music with the original anime.

There was the sometimes dreaded Sailor Moon live action series. But it really belongs with the new show announcement. The live show apparently more faithfully followed the manga. From what I understand, the title character's motivation and temperament are revealed to be darker and divergent from her earlier magical incarnation, as the story cycle comes to a final climax, causing a fissure with her everyday alter ego. This differs from the animated series, as per the final season, presumably because it was oriented towards a younger audience, hence the lighter and less complicated tone. I had some trouble following the live action series towards the end, as it was unfamiliar, and the adaptation as well as tone were different.

With regards to the animated and live-action shows, the whole Greek mythological connection thing was obscure. All we got was the obvious Western astrological stuff referenced, which has been done umpteen times since then. Usually, Greek mythology is presented with Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology); and the usual panalopy of various gods and goddesses with Zeus in Olympus, along with lesser deities and demi-gods on Earth. Maybe the goddess of the moon and her consort and the rest of their fated-lover story, are vestiges of earlier, pre-Hellenic myth? This is something that's going to take some deeper research by me.

Trivia note: creator Naoko Takeuchi was influenced by the US Wonder Woman TV show of the late 1970s; the original concept drew on Greek mythology.

Tokyopop did the manga in a fragmentary way, and it has been long out of print and scarce. I still haven't read the reissued English manga; that should be completed by early next year; in time before the debut of the new series - at that conclusion, I will read it all continuously. Again, creator Takeuchi was at odds with publisher Kodansha in the final season of the show; the story element of the Three Starlights was altered so that they actually changed gender, instead of simply appearing masucline when appearing as a band. Besides that, she didn't have sufficient control of thematic authenticity; so she declined to produce any more manga at that time. Since then, and more recently, she has left the option open, so continuation of the story to further arcs remains unknown at this time.

There are ambiguous comments about "simultaneous worldwide release". Pairing this with the comment that the series will be aired in Japan first, I take it that it will be one season at a time, with TV airings here in 2014; look for video release in 2015? NO IDEA about who will get the rights to English versions - some younger fans want Funimation. Hopefully we will get original UNCUT subtitled Japanese tracks on any videos.

I would like to see the ENTIRE original Sailor Moon series - ALSO - FINALLY released in UNCUT subtitled form for the English market - along the lines of the "classic" original Star Trek (ST:TOS) on video.

Sailor Moon has been postponed again, first from Summer to Fall of 2013 - and now until January 2014. Also, it is being released initially as an ONA - Only Net Availability - meaning as downloads from the internet. While I doubt that it will be available with English subtitles, it will likely mean that it will be fansubbed immediately. Toei is keeping a really tight lid on info - NO voice actors listed, etc. It will be rated PG13... promising. I tend to think that Toei is taking the time to do it right - see attachment. The indications lean towards the regular series being bumped back a year all told. Having a trial warm-up first should help; while they're also putting the finishing touches on the new TV show.